Automatic time cut-off.



J. LYLE.

AUTOMATIC TIME CUT-OFF.

APPLIOATION FILED DEG. 26, 1912.

1,088,438.- Patented Feb. 24, 191

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

' fiV/fness es [kl/enfor- J. LYLE.

AUTOMATIC TIME GUT-OFF.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 26, 1912.

Patented Feb. 24, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1 r0 l V/znesses [fiver/for t/x d/zy LYLE JAY LYLE, OF LONGBEACH,CALIFORNIA,

AUTOMATIC TIME GUT-OFF.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Heb. 24, 1914.

Application filed December 26, 1912. Serial No,v 738,758.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AY LYLE, a citizen of the United States, residingat Longbeach, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, haveinvented a new and useful Automatic Time Cut-Off, of which the followingis a specification.

It often happens that lights or other mechanism in stores, buildings,streets and other places must be operated till'a definite hour of thenight or day is reached, and for the purpose of terminating theoperation at, the required instant a watchman or other attendant isemployed. The provision of a watchman for this purpose involves anappreciable annual expense which may be avoided by use of my inventionas described below.

My invention relates to a novel, durable and simple combination of meanswhereby lights, machinery or mechanism of any sort, operated either byelectricity or other means, may be automatically stopped or cut off atany pre-determined instant.

In particular, my invention relates to a novel combination of means foreffecting the foregoing result in connection with an electric lightingsystem installed, either in the whole, or in part, ofa building or otherplace.

An object of my invention is to provide a simple automatic time out oifwhich shall be durable in construction and absolutely dependable inoperation.

Another object is to provide a cheap automatic time out ofi which may beeasily manufactured and quickly installed at some convenient point inconnection with any existing lighting system.

Another object is to provide an automatic cut oif including withinitself a complete combination of means for effecting its purpose andwhich automatic time out off may be removed from one system and read ilyinstalled without alteration, in connection with another system.

Other objects may appear in consideration of the following detaileddescription and by inspection of the drawings filed in this application.

The following drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the automatic time cut off embracingmy invention, certain parts being broken away. Fig. 2 is averticalsection ofthe automatic time out off taken on line w 5c Fig. 3,andlooking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 3 is a plan view showingmy automatic time out off connected to an electric lighting system.

Tsually the electric power mains, 1 and 2, Fig. 3, are .laid along astreet, and branch mains 3 and L are connected to same and conduct theelectrical power into a building, not shown in the figures. A switch or.cutoff 5 is usually locatedin the cellar, just inside ofthe point wheremains 3 and 4 pass through the foundation walls of the building. Theswitch 5 is adapted to close onto buttons 6 and 7, which are connectedwith the building mains 8 and 9, and from these mains the. current isultimately distributed to the lamps on the several floors or rooms, twoof which are indicated by the conventional lamp banks at 10 and 11. Theusual'switches 12 and 12 are provided in one of the feeders in each ofthe rooms 10 and 11 respectively, and when the watchman or otherattendant wishes to extinguish all the lights, he has the option ofopening switch 5, or of turning each of the switches 12 and 12. Theformer of these two options involves a disagreeable trip into thecellar, while the latter involves a prolonged trip from room to room andfloor to floor.

The automatic time cut-off generally referred to as 13 performs thewatchmans task and at a predetermined instant automatically eXtinguishesall the lights under its control. This cut-off may be connected anywhereacross the building mains 8 and 9, and it is therefore installed in theofiice or other central and convenient place, so that no disagreeabletrip is involved in resetting the same for a subsequent operation.

The automatic time cut-off 13 is mounted upon a light. frame comprisinga bottom member lat and a vertical end member 15. A conventionaldouble-pole switch or cutoff- 16 is suitably mounted upon the end member15, and the building mains 8 and 9 are broken in the usual manner toinsert said cut-oil into their circuit. Upon the bottom member 14 aremounted means for automatically opening cut-off 16 when a certainpro-determined instant of time is reached; and the said means will nowbe described.

A timepiece 17 of any preferred construction contains supplementarymechanism generally referred to as 18, Figs. 1 and 2, which mechanism isadapted to be set into operation by the timepiece when the predeterminedinstant is reached at which the lights are intended to be extinguished.

In practice I use an alarm clock to perform the service of the timepiecel7, and the ringer key of said alarm clock constitutes the aforesaidsupplementary mechanism, and is adapted to turn when the alarm soundsand the usual alarm spring unwinds.

The alarm clock contains the usual dial face/19 and the hour and minutehands 20 and 21, the said alarm clock being wound by means of the usualtime-key 22, and the hands being set by the usual thumb-screw 23. Thealarm feature of said clock includes a bell 24-, ringer key 18 and alarmdial 25. A lever system generally referred to as 26 is connected at oneend, and is operated, by the ringer key or supplementary mechanism 18,and at the other end is con nected with, and is adapted to operate, thecut ofl switch 16; and this lever system will now be described. To thebottom member 1 1 is securely attached an upright block 27 having arectangular slot indicated at 28, Fig. 1, extending medially along thewhole outer face of said block. Adapted to operate within said slot 28are means including the resilient tension spring 29, the beam 30, andthe chain 31, by means of which chain the extremity of said beam isoperatively connected around the handle 32 of the cut off 16. Chain 31,beam 30 and tension spring 29 are attached to each other, and saidtension spring is also attached to the wedge block 33, fitting partlyinto the rear opening of slot 28, whereby it is seen that the action ofthe resilient tension spring is such as would always tend to pull openthe cut off switch 16. A notch 34 is out into the upper surface of thebeam 30 and lever means, new to be described, cooperates with beam 30through the instrumentality of said notch in such manner as topractically relieve the beam from the action of the resilient tensionspring 29. This means includes pin 35, vertically movable through a slot36, in block 27, and said means also includes the tripping bar 37, whichis pivotally connected at 38 to pin 35, and which is pivotally supportedand fulcrumed 39 above the block 27. A compression spring 10 is seatedbetween the upper face of block 27 and the lower face of tripping bar37, and is adapted to normally thrust pin downward in slot 36. Asuitable clip 41 is rigidly mounted on the tripping bar 37 in a positionsuitably alined with the ringer key 18 of the alarm clock, and a springattached at 12 to the bottom member 1 1 has a free resilient end $3 insubstantial alinement with the clip 1-1 and ringer key 18. A chain, orother suitable connection, 14L embraces clip 41:1 at one end, and bymeans of a suitably formed hook 45, passing beneath the free end 41-3 ofthe spring, as shown in Fig. 2, the chain is connected by means of hook45 into the aperture 16 in the ringer key 18.

lVhen set for operation the ringer key 18 lies horizontally, as in Fig.2, and when the alarm sounds at the predetermined instant, said ringerkey will turn in the direction of arrow 14. This rotation will actthrough hook 15, spring end 4-3, connection 42, clip 1-1 and trippingbar 37, to raise pin 35, and thereby interrupt the cooperation betweensaid pin and beam slot S t. By thus interrupting the cooperation thebeam 30 will respond to the action of the resilient tension spring 29 insuch manner as to open cut off 16 to automatically and instantaneouslyextinguish the lights operating from mains 8 and 9.

The use of an alarm clock in connection with the invention is especiallyadvantageous where some ones attention is to be attracted at the sametime that the lights are extinguished. Obviously the person in questionmay sleep or may engage in work that distracts his attention from thetime, and by means of the alarm feature he will be suitably directedtoward his other duties.

It is thought that the construction and mode of operation of theautomatic time cut off embracing my invention will be clear from theforegoing detailed description.

I claim:

In an automatic time-cut-off, the combination of a base plate, an alarmclock mounted in an upright position on said base plate, said clockhaving a key adapted to turn when a predetermined instant is reached, anelectrical circuit having an electrical switch, said electrical switchbeing mounted perpendicularly of said base plate and arranged to swingin a path parallel to said plate for opening and closing the electricalcircuit, tripping mechanism including a notched bar which is mounted soas to be slidable in a path parallel to said base plate, one end of saidbar being operatively connected to said switch and the other end of saidbar being connected to a tension memher which normally urges said bar toopen said switch, a vertically movable peg adapted to drop into thenotch of said bar when the switch is closed and to restrain said baragainst the action of said tension means, so that said bar is normallyprevented from opening the switch; a pivoted lever operatively connectedwith said peg, said lever In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set myhand at Los Angeles, California, this 12th day of December, 1912.

JAY LYLE.

passing adjacent to said clock key, and flexible spring controlled meansconnecting said lever with said key so that when said key begins to turnat the predetermined instant, said lever and peg are moved so as towithdraw the peg from the notch in the beam and so as to permit the beamto open the switch.

In presence of JAMES R. TOWNSEND, ROBERT A. STEPs.

Copies of thh patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commluioner of Patent, Washington, D. 0.

